Railroad track clearer



(No Model.)

J. GRAY.

RAILROAD TRACK OLEARER. N0. 334,428. Patented-Jan. 19,-1886.

1 VEJV'T a Attorney N. Prrzns, Pmwumn n w, Washington. no,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSIAH GRAY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND CARTER SMITH,OF SAME PLACE.

RAILROAD-TRACK CLEARER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,428, dated January19, 1886.

Application filed November 30, 1885. Serial No. 184,302. (No model.)

.i' aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSIAH GRAY, of Ohicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Track Olearers; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon,which form part of this specification, in which .Figure l is afront view of my improved railroad-track clearer. Fig. 2 is a verticalcentral section of the same. This invention relates to improvements intrack clearers or scrapers, such as are usually attached to locomotivesto remove snow or other obstructions from the rails; and it consists inthe construction and arrangement of the various parts, as hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by letter, A designates a beam ofthe truck-frame, to which the device is secured by the clips 13 B andproper bolts, or in other suitable manner.

0 is the frame of the device, composed of the top rail, 0, the similarside rails, c e, diverging from the top rail, and the tranverse railconnecting the side rails, and situated a short distance below theircenters.

D is a shaft,which passes through central openings in the rails 00, andhas on its upper end, above and resting on rail 0, the head 01. Thelower portion, d, of the shaft is rectangular in cross-section, andpasses through a central opening, 01 in the rail 0 d is the shoulderformed by the said squared portion and the cylindrical'portion d of theshaft, and E is a coiled spring surrounding the cylindrical portionbetween the shoulder and the rail 0 of the frame O.

F is the scraper blade, of rectangular shape, and having secured to itsupper edge the bar F, which braces the edge and passes through acircular opening in the lower squared end of the shaft D, below the rail0 or through a block secured. to said end. The bar Fis preferablysecured to the scraper- 50 iron by means of side clips, ff, which havetheir upper portions made tubular, and have their lower portions boltedor riveted to the.

blade F, as shown. By the described means, the scraper-blade is allowedto turn back and forth. on the end of the shaft, as if connected 5 5therewith by a hinge-joint.

G isaregularly-curved rod,with its convexity downward and having itsends firmly secured to the lower ends of the side rails, c. The ends ofthe rod are preferably threaded and passed through openings in the endsof the rails and secured in place by washers and nuts on the outersurfaces of the rails, as shown. The rod G passes through an extendedslot, g, in the scraper-blade, and coinciding with the vertical axisthereof.

H H are coiled springs'surrounding the rod G on each side of thescraper-blade, and bearing'against the same in opposite directions, andit h are washers on the rod G, which wash- 7o ers lie against the sidesof the blade over the slot g, and receive the thrust of the springs. Thelower edge, I, of the scraper-blade is notched at t, to receive the topor tread of the rail and all the corners are rounded, as at it", toprevent the blade catching on a rail or frog, or in any shaped groove.

The device may be attached to a locomotive forward of the drivers andbehind the forward truck, or to a car or carriage truck, so that it willnot prevent the front wheels from exploding torpedoes placed on therails to give warning to thetrain. Should the engine stop on a frog orguard-rail, the scraper-blade will not be injured thereby when theengine is reversed, as the shaft D will rise when the obstructionpresses on the lower edge of the scraper-blade, .and will be forced downagain, when the obstruction has been passed, by the spring E. Thescraper will act just as well 0 when the engine is backing as when thesame is running forward, because the turning of the scraper-blade on theshaft D reverses its inclination, and the springs H H keep the bladedown and in proper position to work. 5

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The combination of thescraper-frame, the vertical shaft attached thereto, the scraperbladeconnected to the lower end of said shaft and capable of turning back andforth thereon, the rod connecting the ends of the side rails of thescraper-frame and passing through a slot in the scraper-frame blade, andthe coiled springs on said rod acting against opto the lower end of theshaft D, having its lower corners rounded, and the notch t on its loweredge, the rod G, connecting the lower ends of the rails c c, and thecoiled springs H H, all constructed and arranged substantially as shown,and for the purposes specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JOSIAH GRAY.

\Vitnesscs:

O. F. Lonson, F. J. LOESCH.

